Royston First United Methodist Church

“On the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the Lord; and he said in the sight of Israel, ‘Sun stand still at Gibeon, and Moon, in the valley of Aijalon.’ And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped…” – Joshua 10:12-13

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING: Joshua 9-12

This passage of scripture has always fascinated me. It is one of the only passages of scripture in the entire Bible where we God and a human switch places. Joshua tells the sun to stand still, and God listens to Joshua. How amazing would it have been to have witnessed this phenomenon?

But yet we ask, why would God allow the sun to stay in the sky at Joshua’s request? This bold act of command toward the sun could also have been seen as a presumptuous act of blasphemy. Yet, God honored the request.

This story reminds of two things: 1) with God all things are possible — we see this repeatedly throughout scripture and the angel of the Lord even spoke these words to Mary as she questioned her pregnancy; 2) God will go to great lengths when we faithfully follow God. Joshua was a servant of the Lord. While it may seem that he was taking command of something that was not his, Joshua was actually honoring God by doing what God had told him to do. When we honor God with our faithful obedience, then we will see God to great lengths to provide for us.

How are you honoring God in bold and courageous ways? This Sunday, we will look at the beginning of Joshua’s story with God as we explore what it takes to survive in a changing world. During our early service, we will also recognize our Kids Klub as many of our elementary kids lead us in different parts of theservice. It’s going to be another amazing Sunday!

Have an amazing weekend and I look forward to being with you in worship at 8:45 and 11:00!

Grace and peace,
Matt

P.S. Please continue to be in prayer for the coronavirus pandemic happening across the world. There are many who are anxious about this virus. We are doing everything we can to ensure safety through some extra precautionary measures and modifications in our regular Sunday morning practices. We will continue to keep you updated on any further developments related to thecoronavirus.